Tag: Sean Radu

by Mike Pavlichko

Slugfest with with a little something for everyone ends in 17-10 victory for East Brunswick Magnet over New Brunswick, sweeping season series

On a bright, sunny, but turning blustery cold day in the shadows of the dying Brunswick Square Mall and its big blue water tower, East Brunswick Magnet completed a two-game series sweep of New Brunswick Tuesday, with a 17-10 home in in GMC Gold Division action heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

That was the main story, but this one? Well, it had all the components of the wildest game you’ve ever seen.

There were multiple dropped balls on a day with 15-to-20 mile per hour winds, and a stark sun still fairly low in the sky as is typical of early April. New Brunswick arrived just ten minutes before the scheduled first pitch, which officially was thrown at 4:23 pm. There was a 4-6-3 double play where the second baseman booted the ball, but right to the shortstop who was standing on the bag to get to first out. And ground balls died a quick death on the choppy early-season infield grass – which sprouts right up after Spring rain.

Oh, and there were a combined 27 runs scored between the two teams in a game which, had it gone on much longer, might have been called due to darkness. By the time Dariel Rodriguez struck out swinging to end the ballgame at 7:22 pm, the sun had already been below the tree line on the other side of Summerhill Road for a good five to ten minutes.

And yet, this one could have been over early.

East Brunswick Magnet, coming off a 17-4 win Monday in New Brunswick – where they led 13-0 heading to the bottom of the fifth before the Zebras forced a sixth-inning with a grand slam by Jose Abreu, only to fall 17-4 in six – picked up right where it left off less than 24 hours prior, scoring four runs off New Brunswick starter Jacob Henderson.

The Zebras – whose lineup is half freshman coming off a season where they beat the Tigers in the GMC Invitational title game – could have folded then. They could have sulked and packed it in, turning the page to Wednesday’s game against neighboring North Brunswick.

But they didn’t. They came back with three in the second to cut the deficit to one. Then, after Magnet added a run in the third, tied the game 5-5 with two runs in the fourth. And they seemed to blow it open with four runs in the top of the fifth to go ahead 9-5.

But that’s when East Brunswick Magnet had enough, and did all the damage they needed to. They sent eleven men to the plate in the fifth, and scored seven runs to take a 12-9 lead. Then did the same in the sixth scoring five runs to take a 17-9 lead.

Highlights for the Tigers? Starting pitcher Joshua Carreras – though the sophomore didn’t get the win – pitched four inning, allowing just three hits, five runs – but only two earned – and struck out seven. But he had an even better day at the plate, scoring twice, and hitting a bases-clearing three-RBI triple in the fifth to give his team the lead, for good.

There was also second-baseman Braeden Cullen, who had a double and an RBI in the first innings, scored three times, and had an RBI sac fly to center in the decisive fifth inning.

And all nine positions in the batting order scored; the only starter not to cross the plate was catcher Andrew Teleposky, and only because he had a courtesy runner. But he still reached base five times.

In the end, the win went to Jack Clements in relief, who pitched two and two-thirds innings, gave up one hit, one unearned run, and struck out seven; it was his first victory of the season. Misael Dura took the loss for New Brunswick, allowing seven runs in just an inning-and-a-third, but wasn’t helped by the defense behind him; only four of those runs were earned.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Nick Hart with East Brunswick Magnet head coach Sean Radu and sophomore pitcher Joshua Carreras, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Nick Hart

After nabbing first win, East Brunswick Magnet looks to build momentum and solidify lineup against New Brunswick

After a 20-6 record last season and a trip to the GMC’s Ray Cipperly Invitational Final, East Brunswick Magnet expected to start off 2026 on a tear. Not only did the Tigers have the taste of success on their tongues, but they also returned a majority of their roster, graduating just four seniors. 

Despite this, East Brunswick Magnet dropped its first two games of the season to red-hot Carteret (5-0), a one-run loss to open the season and a six-run defeat to follow. Charlie Misura pitched a complete game for the Tigers in the opening loss, giving up just four hits and one walk, as the bats fell just short of securing a victory. 

Fortunately for East Brunswick Magnet, the offense would come to life in Game Three of the young campaign, hanging 17 runs on New Brunswick Monday afternoon en route to a 17-4 road victory. Five different players recorded multiple hits for the Tigers, highlighted by a four-hit, three RBI day from Joshua Carreras. 

The rematch comes less than 24 hours after Monday’s final out, at 4 pm Tuesday at Racy Cipperly Field, in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Mike Pavlichko and Nick Hart have the call, with pregame starting at 3:45. Click here to listen.

The all-around offensive outpouring Monday was a welcome sight for the Tigers, who are still trying to solidify a starting lineup early this year.

Through three games this season, head coach Sean Radu has seen a slew of different combinations in the infield, as well as three different players recording a start in right field. 

With all the uncertainty surrounding the lineup and expectations for this season, one thing has become evident to coach Radu: new leaders must step up and lead the squad. 

Two of the bigger losses the Tigers suffered impacted both the lineup and the rotation, with Tommy O’Neill and Nomar Carreras graduating. 

O’Neill touted an impressive .370 batting average to go along with an equally impressive 1.40 ERA in his senior season. Carreras, on the other hand, hit .392 while pitching 36.1 innings, striking out 62 batters in the process. 

Click below to hear East Brunswick Magnet head coach Sean Radu talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Nick Hart about the 2026 season so far, and going for the series sweep Tuesday afternoon against New Brunswick:

by Mike Pavlichko

East Brunswick Magnet holds off 7th inning Dunellen rally for 13-12 win; Hutchins collects three milestones in one game for Destroyers

Next time you take a look at league standings in baseball, note that you’ll see wins, losses, win percentages, division records, and runs for and against.

One thing you won’t see: style points.

Good thing for East Brunswick Magnet, which saw a five-run lead nearly evaporate in the bottom of the seventh at Columbia Park in Dunellen Wednesday, but hung on for a 13-12 win to keep them in first place in the Greater Middlesex Conference Gold Division.

There were some good hard hits – even an Anthony Bienvenue solo homer to lead off the third for the Tigers – but it was hardly a slugfest. EB Magnet benefitted from four Dunellen errors, and nine walks issued by Destroyer pitchers.

It was back-and-forth early on. The Tigers got a leadoff double from Tommy O’Neill and a walk from Nomar Carreras, with both getting driven in on a Stephen Zappola double two batters later. But Dunellen got back four in the home half, on two hits and two walks. One came in on a double-steal of second and home.

East Brunswick Magnet got four back in the top of the second to take a 6-4 lead – with only one hit in the frame – but Dunellen answered right back with three in the bottom of the second, to take a 7-6 lead after two.

The Tigers continued to score, while Carreras – the starting pitcher – settled in. After giving up seven runs on five hits in the first two innings, he struck out the side in the third, got out of a jam that could have been worse in the fourth, allowing just one run, and faced four batters in the fifth, his final inning. The final out came with a runner at third, with a wild pitch that brought him home, except the hitter, Ryan Hutchins, was called out for batters’ interference. The home plate umpire said he hadn’t cleared enough room for the play to be made.

The Tigers for two in the third, one in the fourth, and two more in the fifth and sixth to take a 13-8 lead heading into the seventh, where they were held scoreless for the first time all day.

In the bottom of the inning is where it got interesting. Jack Clements came on to close it out and fanned the first two hitters. No. 9 hitter Jackson Portik reached on an E4, then Ryan Hutchins doubled him in to cut the deficit to four. It was his 100th career hit. He also logged his 100th career stolen base in the first, and scored his 100th career run in the seventh.

Dunellen players gather with Ryan Hutchins, who collected his 100th career hit, steal and run in a 13-2 home loss to East Brunswick Magnet on April 30, 2025. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

But his hit moved Protik to third, the Kristian Roman got hit by a pitch to load the bases. Mark Stein hit one to short and reached on an error, scoring Portik and moving the other runners up. With Cole Mayer at the plate, Hutchins came in from third on a wild pitch. Then Mayer drove in two when he reached on a chopper to short that took a bad bounce and went high over Chase Meyer’s glove. Michael Dow was hit by a pitch to load the bases, but Joseph Reyes swung and missed at a 2-2 pitch to end the game.

East Brunswick Magnet improves to 14-2, 10-1 in the GMC Gold Division, a half game ahead of second-place New Brunswick (9-1 overall and in the White). The Tigers play at Perth Amboy Magnet Friday, while the Zebras has Timothy Christian Thursday and Monday. But EB Magnet and New Brunswick face each other after that fir the first time this year, Wednesday in East Brunswick, and Friday – after the GMC seeding meeting that morning – at Memorial Stadium.

Dunellen dropped to 9-6, 7-4 in the White with the loss.

Both starters got the decisions; Carreras (5-0) the win for East Brunswick Magnet, Danny Watts (2-2) the loss for Dunellen.

Click below for postgame reaction from East Brunswick Magnet starting pitcher Nomar Carreras and head coach Sean Radu:

by Mike Pavlichko

With new coach, hot bats and stellar arms, East Brunswick Magnet off to hottest start in years

Once again this year, Greater Middlesex Conference baseball teams found themselves shuffled around to different divisions, and some even landed in the new, fifth division, the GMC Silver.

East Brunswick Magnet – coming off a 10-10 campaign in 2024 – stayed where it’s been for years, in the GMC Gold.

And so far, it’s been Home, Sweet Home for the Tigers.

Under first-year head coach Sean Radu – who spent the last ten seasons as the head coach at Plainfield – EB Magnet is off to a 7-0 start, one of only two schools in the GMC to be undefeated in the third full week of the season.

While they won’t get the No. 1 seed in the county tournament, at this point they should at least be a favorite if they’re seeded into the GMC Invitational Tournament, which was recently named after the late former EB Tech Athletic Director, baseball coach, and architect of their amazing baseball field, Ray Cipperly.

Radu replaces Todd Sak, who spent 16 years (15 seasons) as head coach at East Brunswick Magnet, going 159-142 in that span, with double-digit win totals in each of the past four seasons since the 2020 season was wiped out due to COVID-19.

Noting that excellent foundation, Radu says he wanted to change the culture just “a little bit.”

The result? This year’s squad has been tremendous. The Tigers lead the Division at 7-0 overall, 6-0 in the Silver, two full games ahead of second-place New Brunswick, at 3-1 overall and in the division.

It’s the program’s best start since winning its first ten games en route to a 14-5 campaign under Sak in 2017.

They’re outscoring opponents on average by an average of more than ten runs a game, scoring 82 times in seven games, allowing just eleven per game, 1.5 runs per contest.

The Tigers aren’t just winning. They’re dominating. Four of their seven victories have come via the ten-run rule.

As a team, they’re hitting .380, led by senior outfielder Tommy O’Neill (.522, 5 RBIs) and junior shortstop Jack Clements (.524, 12 RBI), while senior Nomar Carreras has driven in a team-best 13 runs.

On the mound, only three of six pitchers who have seen game action this year have given up an earned run, and only four have been scored upon. Junior Anthony Bienvenue has thrown 17 innings and struck out 18, walking only five, with a team-leading 0.82 ERA, while sophomore Charlie Misura is at 0.88 in eight innings pitched.

Click below to hear East Brunswick Magnet first-year head coach Sean Radu talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko about the Tigers’ 2025 season so far:

East Brunswick Magnet is back in action Thursday afternoon with a 4 pm home game against Union County foe Rahway (3-2, 3-0 in the Union County Conference Valley Division.)